Warriors: Rising Flames
by cherryberrythefirst
Summary: Icepaw wakes up to a prophecy telling her to beware the burning flames that will destroy the forest. But who will these "burning flames" be? Read to find out more!
1. Allegiances

Allegiances part 1

* qindox my friend has helped me with my names

Riverclan

Leader

Brookstar- a white she-cat with blue eyes and a gray stripe down her back.

Deputy

Firegaze- a cold gray tom with golden- orange eyes

Medicine Cat

Pebblesong- a light gray she- cat with light green eyes

Warriors

Elmshadow- a dark brown tabby with even darker brown eyes

Apprentice:Icepaw

Dawnstripe- friendly tom with fluffy orange pelt and copper eyes

Dewflower- quiet but loyal white she-cat with light blue eyes

Apprentice:Vinepaw

Birchtail- a fierce and energetic black tom with a brown tail

Apprentice:Snakepaw

Perchfin- a gray cat with an unusually jutted shoulder blade, like a perch's fin.(a type of fish)

Silversky-silver she-cat with slivers of white running down her back

Wolfclaw- a dark gray he-cat with a mane similiar to a wolf's

Apprentice:Flamepaw

Mistfur- a light gray she-cat with blue eyes and black stripes

Snowriver- a beautiful white she- cat with blue eyes

Bumblewhisker- a playful young tom with light gray eyes and a spotted dark brown pelt

Apprentice:Eaglepaw

Apprentices

Icepaw- a gray she-cat with darker gray stripes and piercing blue eyes

Vinepaw- a energetic orange cat with yellow eyes

Eaglepaw- a friendly but annoying brown tom with blue eyes

Flamepaw- a white cat with fire coloured eyes

Snakepaw- a quiet young tom

Queens

Ambersky- tortiseshell queen with amber eyes

Sagefoot- a former kittypet with fluffy fur and green eyes.

Ravenwing- a black she-cat with a dark blue gaze

Elders

Darkstorm- grumpy tom with dark fur and light brown eyes

Squirrelstrike- a formerly quick- footed dark brown tabby

Bramblefang- a yellow tom with unusually long fangs

Thunderclan

Leader

Scorchstar- a green eyed she-cat with a smooth golden pelt and a graceful body

Deputy

Stoneheart- a cold gray tom with black paws and dark gray eyes

Medicine Cat

Cottonfur- a former Persian kittypet (she- cat)

Warriors

Dappleleaf- a beautiful tortiseshell she- cat with green eyes

Apprentice:Mousepaw

Nightflame- a black she- cat with striking blue eyes

Sunfeather- a bright young tom with a yellow pelt and tan eyes

Cloudchaser- a fluffy patched tom with pale blue eyes

Apprentice: Mintpaw

Featherwing- a yellow she- cat with long limbs and huge ears and green eyes

Apprentice: Ravenpaw

Rosetail- ( a former kittypet) beige colored tabby with dark blue eyes

Cinderfur- ash colored tabby with blue eyes

Apprentices

Mintpaw- a streaked tom

Ravenpaw- a black tom

Blossompaw- a tortiseshell she-cat with amber eyes

Queens

Dreamcloud- a white she-cat with yellow eyes

Skyfeather- a blue- gray she cat with sapphire coloured eyes

Elders

Echostorm- a light gray tom with gray eyes

Lionblaze-a very old cat who came from (he claimed) the legendary clans -golden tabby tom with amber eyes

Windclan

Leader

Hawkstar- a brown tabby tom with black spots

Deputy

Duskfire- a dark orange tom with yellow eyes

Medicine Cat

Breezedance- a serious cat whose eyes seem to dance in the wind and has a yellowish pelt

Warriors

Swiftfoot- a fast white tom with brown eyes and brown paws

Grasswhisker- a lean she- cat with drab grey fur and green eyes

Apprentice: Poppypaw

Rabbitfur- a sandy tom with blue eyes

Mapleleaf- a light brown tom with green eyes

Apprentice: Rockpaw

Meadow's Song- a mysterious brown she- cat who was found living on the plains before the clans arrived

Hedgetail- a sandy tom with a brown tail and green eyes

Apprentice: Blossompaw

Flowerspot- a white she- cat with black flower-like markings

Apprentices

Poppypaw- a gray she-cat with orange eyes

Rockpaw- a black tom with yellow eyes

Mousepaw- a nice she- cat with mousy thin brown fur and pale eyes

Queens

Winterfrost- a pale she-cat with pale eyes

Elders

Oakpath- an ancient dark brown tom with yellow eyes

Barkfur- a recently injured tabby tom with blue eyes

Shadowclan

Leader

Quailstar- a brown tom with yellow eyes

Deputy

Springtail- a cheerful brown tabby she-cat with green eyes

Medicine cat

Brightfur- a golden she-cat with blue eyes

Warriors

Earthstep- a white tom with brown limbs

Tinyfoot- a small gray tom with brown eyes

Apprentice:Nettlepaw

Mossfur- a brown she-cat with green eyes

Spottedpelt- a spotted golden cat with brown eyes

Apprentice:Redpaw

Tallpine-a tan and lean tom with golden eyes

Apprentice:Cherrypaw

Plumblossom- a purplish- gray she-cat with yellow eyes

Frogleap-a gray tom with mischevious eyes

Deerfur- a caramel tom with amber eyes

Apprentices

Redpaw- a tom with reddish-brown fur

Cherrypaw- a brown she-cat with a reddish nose

Nettlepaw- a tan tom with squinty eyes

Queens

Thornleaf- a prickly but beautiful brown tabby with blue eyes

Horsefoot- a she-cat with long fur and brown limbs'

Elders

Pricklefur- a dark she-cat with fur sticking out in bunches

Craggyleaf- a former kittypet with admirable fighting skills

Cats Outside Clans

Ocean- a white she-cat with sea-green eyes

Tree- a brown tom with a white stripe down his back

Shadows in the Night- a violent black cat with blue eyes


	2. Chapter 1 and Prolougue

Prologue

"Ice will shatter, and flames will rise, devouring the forest," spoke a grave voice. Moonstar stepped from the shadows. "Beware the cat you trust the most, the cat you most respect, and the cat you doubt the least, lest they turn against you in rage. Beware the cat with the deathberry hidden up his gentle mew. Beware-" Suddenly, a paw swiped out of the darkness of Starclan. It caught her by surprise, so the paws quickly overtook her. Moonstar yowled out a last warning,"Beware the burning flames", before the paws swiped her down.

The attacking cat looked up with eyes of flame. "Greetings Icepaw."

Chapter 1

Icepaw woke up with a shiver. The words and images of last night's dream were as clear as river water. She thought about telling someone, but dismissed the prospect immediately. Which cat would believe that she had received a prophecy at all, let alone one from the renowned leader Moonstar.

"Icepaw, wake up, we're going to learn to fish today!" a cheery voice reminded her. Icepaw turned over and saw the cheerful face of Eaglepaw.

"Good morning," he mewed.

Icepaw moaned as she thought, Eaglepaw does this every morning, chittering like a tree squirrel and annoying everybody. Groggily, she stood up and walked out of the den.

" Where is the fish?" she asked wearily, desperately hoping the others didn't take her favourite kind of prey."

"I saved a piece for you, Icepaw," came Eaglepaw's cheery meow. "Thanks," she meowed with graditude. Then, she wondered- why did Eaglepaw always seem to show a prank filled humour towards the clan, but always turned a friendly face towards her? Why did he- A soft nudge on her shoulder woke her from her thoughts.

Flamepaw meowed ,"Come on Icepaw, we need to clean the elders' den. After, we'll be learning how to fish afterwards."

Icepaw stared into the empty space. In her mind, she thought, Flamepaw is so brave, so fierce, and the most handsome cat in Riverclan(named after the legendary clans in a faraway forest) , but could he be the "burning flames" that the prophecy was talking about?

She rapidly dismissed the very idea. Flame and Fire were commonly used as names. For example, there was Firegaze, the deputy himself, and Embersky, a snappish but beautiful queen. The word flame in his name didn't necessarily mean Flamepaw was the prophesied cat.

She blinked to clear her mind and decided to go clean the elder's den before Vinepaw started to meow with complaint that she was being a lazy badger. She slowly trotted to the elders den, still wondering about last night's dream. A sharp twig abruptly interrupted her thoughts, so for the rest of the way, Icepaw decided to concentrate on here and now. By a despicable (to Icepaw) design mistake, the apprentice den was located many fox lengths away from the elders' den since they had a huge camp. Therefore, it took forever to go clean the elder's den.

Finally, she thought, I'm here, as she arrived at the luxurious (compared to the apprentice den) elder's den.

Darkstorm hissed at her. "Why are you late?," he growled. "The others were here a moon ago."


	3. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

_"Sorry", Icepaw meowed in apology. "I was distracted"._

_"Next time, be late again and I'll scratch your fur off," Darkstorm snarled._

_Icepaw gave a tiny mew of laughter. Darkstorm was the clan's most grumpy cat. Sometimes, it was hard to believe he was an elder. _

_Vinepaw stared at Icepaw." You're late again!" she meowed with a not- so -surprised look. _

_"It's all because of the distance," Icepaw mewed with protest. " _

_Vinepaw snorted in disbelief. "We're close to finished with Squirrelstrike's and Bramblefang's sleeping nests. You can line Darkstorm's nest. That's what you get for being a lazy badger." Icepaw sighed with unwillingness. She seemed to get Darkstorm every time! _

_"Take this," Eaglepaw mewed softly as he pushed a pile of black and green toward her. "This is Darkstorm's favourite bedding combonation- moss and blackbird feathers." _

_"Thanks Eaglepaw," meowed Icepaw. She piled the bedding in Darkstorm's sleeping hollow gratefully. The niceness of Eaglepaw only lasted a moment. After about ten heartbeats, he continued chittering about how he snatched a crow from the air like the legendary Firestar did. _

_Flamepaw seemed to have enough of the chittering when he meowed,"Be silent. We are trying to line nests, not scare away prey twenty fox-leaps away." In her heart, she silently agreed with him, but she thought that Flamepaw was being a little harsh. _

_"Here, Icepaw, take this, Darkstorm likes seagull feathers in his bedding too. I traded these with Ocean for a mouse." _

_"Don't you know, Flamepaw? Seagull feathers can give some cats a rash," Eaglepaw hissed, a rare event. _

_Flamepaw merely shrugged. Icepaw didn't know what to do, so she gave the feathers back. _

_"Sorry Flamepaw, I want to be on the safe side, but thanks," said Icepaw. She finished lining the nest alone, as everybody was done and left. _

_When she looked up in relief, she found Darkstorm's piercing gaze on her. Quickly, she hurried out, trying not to look scared. Darkstorm's gaze was powerful enough to make Brookstar flinch, so what chance would a puny apprentice have? _

_Elmshadow was standing right outside the elder's den. _

_"Come on, Icepaw, the others have already gone to the river. Don't you want to learn how to fish?" Without waiting for a reply, she trotted off towards the river. Icepaw followed, rubbing her slightly scratched paws. _

_As they arrived at the river, Icepaw saw Flamepaw, looking slightly bored but determined, and nodded in greeting. "So, Icepaw, you catch a fish by doing this." Elmshadow made a scooping motion, and out came one wriggling silver fish. Icepaw tried as she spotted a brownish fish, but all she caught was a pawful of water. _

_"No, Icepaw," Elmshadow meowed in a patient voice. "Scoop before the fish arrives, and use your claws to trap the struggling fish." Icepaw tried once more, but she still came up with a handful of water. _

_"Icepaw, you scooped too late. You have to time it- within three heartbeats of spotting the fish, scoop it. Practice the motion above the water for me to see," Elmshadow meowed again, this time her voice strained just a tiny bit. Icepaw scooped in the air, as if trying to claw the face of an invisible enemy. " _

_I see... ..." Elmshadow murmured as she identified the mistake." You are scooping too violently, and the fish escape your hand as you make the huge scoop. Try to do it delicately, with just a flick of your paw." _

_Elmshadow demonstrated the motion in the air. Icepaw tried it, but she thought she still wasn't doing it correctly. As she glanced over her side, she saw Ivypaw and Snakepaw marveling over the two fish that Flamepaw had already caught. Her heart sank in despair. How could she be of any use to her clan if she couldn't even catch the clan's main prey? _

_Then, the chirpy voice of Eaglepaw meowed," It's okay, Icepaw. I only caught a drippy leaf myself. Vinepaw and Snakepaw are too busy fawning over Flamepaw to catch any fish themselves. At least you're not alone. And did you know that .. ... " And so Eaglepaw went on and on about the most random subjects. _

_Unfortunately, that only made Icepaw feel even worse. She wanted to be compared with the best, not worst! She attempted to catch prey three more times, then finally gave up when a fish decided to bite her. Disappointed,(and mad,) she walked over to Flamepaw. _

_" I caught four fish already!" Flamepaw exclaimed proudly. " Here, have one, Icepaw." _

_" Thanks," she muttered gratefully. Vinepaw gave her a jealous look, but said nothing, not wanting to look bad in front of Flamepaw. As she tore into the fish, she could hear Eaglepaw chattering despite the fact that nobody was listening._

_To be polite, she abstractedly mewed," That's great, Eaglepaw." _

_Suddenly, yowls of "Border skirmish!" began to penetrate the usual noises of the river. _

" _All apprentices and mentors, come with me!" Firegaze's deep and confident voice rallied the cats, and they quickly organized as if they were the tally leaves used to keep track of fresh kill. They swam across the river and leaped onto the Thunderclan border. _

" _We had every right to take that squirrel," Scorchstar hissed. " Riverclan doesn't even hunt squirrels."_

" _You still trespassed on our territory," Birchtail said. He looked like he would burst out fighting any moment if there wasn't a stern gaze from Brookstar keeping him locked in place. _

" _We already explained to you," spoke Dappleleaf, her usually soft voice icy. " The squirrel was our prey. We are prepared to fight for the right to our _prey." She said the "our" with extra emphasis.

Brookstar, determined to avoid the prospect of making her clan seem weak, also knew that at least one cat would be seriously injured if this huge border skirmish actually saw action.

Seeing that Brookstar was caught, Scorchstar slyly meowed,"But of course there is a option. Give Flamepaw back to his rightful clan." Everybody knew that Flamepaw's father was the deceased Snakeflame, the sole cat from Thunderclan that had almost been the end of the four clans, but it was almost a taboo to discuss that topic out loud.

" Give Flamepaw back to Thunderclan, and we will forget the squirrel," Scorchstar hissed softly. "Give the poor cat his rightful home back."

So that was what all the fuss was about, Icepaw thought angrily. Now Scorchstar had backed Brookstar into a trap. A steel trap coated with burning poison.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Brookstar lifted an elegant paw, and with a unsheathing of claws, raked it across Scorchstar's face. " You knew!" she howled." You're trying to take him away from me, knowing I'll weaken at the prospect! You know how much I cared for him! Don't think about making me choose between my clan and Flamepaw! Don't!"

Frozen with shock at the blood dripping down her face, it seemed to be an eternity before Scorchstar screeched," Attack!"

Suddenly, it seemed like the whole of Thunderclan was upon them, yowling with fury. Luckily, Icepaw had learned a few battle moves, and only Blossompaw was upon her. Quickly, Icepaw stole a glance at Flamepaw. She shivered. He was using the exact same attack as the cat in her dreams, swiping with a paw to bring opponents down. Then she asked herself again while absentmindedly clawing at Blossompaw's face.

Could Flamepaw really be the " burning flames" that the prophecy was talking about? Flamepaw had enough fury and coldness in his eyes when battling. He seemed to swipe at any warrior, whether it was his own clanmate, or the invading clan. His muzzle streaked with blood. He seemed to be hungry for power, the power that only blood could bring.

Ridiculous! Icepaw rebuked herself for even thinking of this. That battle move was common, and even though the cat in her dreams and Flamepaw both had orange eyes, it could be a trick of the light. After all, who knew what Starclan was like? It could probably always be dawn or dusk there.

She shook her head to clear these thoughts, and she swiped with annoyance at her opponent- once left, once right, and then she kicked out with her hind legs to knock her down. Blossompaw keeled over, her delicate legs astray, her honey eyes glassy.

Ravenpaw was suddenly in her place, anger spreading across his face. "How dare you," he snarled.

Fox dung! Icepaw thought. She forgot that Ravenpaw was overly protective of Blossompaw. If Blossompaw got one little scratch, Ravenpaw was immediately there to comfort her. He lunged at Icepaw, swiping his claws within a mousetail of her face. The only reason his claws were not in Icepaw's face, was because she tripped on her tail. What a stupid thing to do! Even the nursery kits knew better, she chided herself.

Of course she knew he was toying with her, torturing the evil enemy who injured Blossompaw, but she fought back all the same. Kicks were blocked, swipes were dodged, until Ravenpaw was bored. After that, he simply tore at her chest. She simply didn't have the strength to defend anymore, not after blocking all those strikes. A black paw seemed to streak across her head. Pain erupted in bursts, and her vision seemed to be streaked with a grayish red. Her consciousness was slowly fading, fading, fading... ... ...

" Icepaw? Can you hear me? Icepaw?" Am I in Starclan? she wondered. Well, it certainly looked like Starclan, with the bright, star filled sky, always there, no matter when it was. When her vision cleared, she could see the stars moving smoothly, as if they were white birds. White birds? she wondered. Suddenly it came to her. Of course she wasn't in Starclan! What she thought were stars were birds in the sky!

A silver face stared at her, looking grave but concerned. " Icepaw, Thunderclan has declared that the two clans shall be rivals now." The grave words chilled her blood. Having another clan as your rival was a terrible thing. Rivaled clans could bear grudges for unspoken generations. It forbidden to speak to a rival clan, or to help them, or basically do anything to them except for fight them. Rival clans also sometimes invaded the other just to anger and weaken the other clan.

Icepaw got up groggily to find that her head was dizzy and her paws unsteady. Noise of yowling and meows of congragulations were coming from the outside.

" I, Brookstar, leader of Riverclan, solemnly declare you, Flamepaw, a warrior. Your duty will be to protect and hunt for this clan, as you agreed to as an apprentice. You will now be known as Flameshadow. Riverclan welcomes your bravery and fighting skills. " Flamepaw received a quick lick on the shoulder by Brookstar and stepped down to his clan mates amid vivid cheers of "Flameshadow!". When Icepaw glanced at him, he wasn't smug, like most apprentices, but happy and gave encouragements to his former denmates.

" Don't worry Icepaw, I'm sure you'll be next!" Flameshadow mewed earnestly. That's what I mean, she thought. How could the warm sunny sunhigh that was Flamepaw, morph into the burning flames of the prophecy?

Brookstar glanced at Icepaw. " I almost forgot! " she meowed. " Sagefoot's two kits are ready to be apprenticed. Hmm... ... Let's start with Owllkit! " Owlkit shot a smug look at his sister, who glanced up only for a moment.

"I Brookstar, leader of Riverclan, solemnly declare you, Owlkit, an apprentice. Your duty is to train and hunt for this clan. Do you accept your duty? "

Owlkit mewed eagerly, " I accept!"

" Then I solemnly declare you Owlpaw. "Cheers of " Owlpaw" rang out in the crowd of cats. Owlpaw slowly stepped down, looking immensely proud of his new name.

"I Brookstar, leader of Riverclan, solemnly declare you, Goosekit , an apprentice. Your duty is to train and hunt for this clan. Do you accept your duty? "

" Of course," Goosekit mewed smoothly.

" Then I solemnly declare you Goosepaw." Cheers of Goosepaw replaced the dying cheers of Owlpaw as she leaped down gracefully. Owlpaw glared at her with seeping hatred, but then quickly changed his face to a mask of congratulations. Flamepaw smiled at Owlpaw, as if Owlpaw was a blade of grass. Forest grass was easily bendable, but sharp enough to cut a cat's pads . Owlpaw smiled back, a ambitious grin on his face. Only Goosepaw seemed to notice their silent exchange, her strange lavender eyes flashing when she finally understood the meaning of the secret smiles.


End file.
